Precision Wire Forms Fabrication Utilizing Multislide Forming Techniques

Multislide Forming and Wire Forms Fabrication by Western Wire Products Company

St. Louis-based Western Wire Products Company is a leading primary wire forms manufacturer and supplier that utilizes multislide forming, four-slide forming and/or precision CNC forming to produce simple to very  complex wire forms.   In business for a 100 years, we have the experience and machinery to meet the demands of a diverse range of market sectors.  We are a major national supplier to a variety of OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), MROs (Maintenance and Repair Operations), U.S. distribution channels, and to international business customers and wire forms distributors.

With an extensive production capacity that accommodates most requests including primary fabrication, precision fabrication, CNC wire bending, CNC wire forming, secondary operations and finishing services, we are uniquely situated to produce the wire forms that your business requires.  We offer our customers a wide range of standardized wire form products in categories including:  mechanical fasteners, general wire forms, wire handles, wire hangers, and even custom-made springs, and custom industrial wire forms, torsion springs, hooks and other fabrications.

Please contact Western Wire Products Company for general inventory stock purchases or to request and discuss your custom wire forms production requirements.  We offer companies product design services, general engineering, prototype work (rapid prototyping), custom manufacturing services, product finishing services, packaging and competitive lead time to market for wire forms for resale or retail.

You may call Western Wire Products Company toll-free at 800-325-3770.  Also, feel free to e-mail your general product or fabrication service inquiries to: [email protected].

Multislide Forming and Wire Extrusion for Complex Wire Form Shapes

Multislide forming, two-slide forming, and precision four-slide forming techniques are used in the wire extrusion process.  Multislide forming and four-slide forming techniques allow the fabrication of complex geometries in wire forms without wasting metals.  The extrusion process draws wire or thin hollow wire (a.k.a. “wire tubing” fabrication) through multislide/four-slide forming machinery and equipment.

There are of course many reasons to utilize this type of fabrication machinery for precision wire forms.  One reason is to save semi-precious, rare or expensive metals during the extrusion process.  The process thins out the wire diameter, thus eliminating metal waste from blank wire.  The extrusion process thins-and-draws the wire, and if there is excess or leftover metal from the extrusion process, it is usually reusable or at least recyclable, depending on the techniques and machinery.  A common industry term for this wire forms fabrication process is “wire swaging.”  Multislide and four-slide forming machinery are ideal for lower production runs and wire forms fabrication for a wide variety of complex wire forms, which have multiple bends, complex geometries or even require secondary threading.

Wire extrusion, using multislide and/or four-slide forming techniques, alters the diameter of the blank wire for the intended wire form diameter (finished product diameter).  “Drawing wire” is usually the first step in at least a two-step forming process.  The second step generally involves drawing the wire through two or more dies; then the wire is hammered resulting in a smaller diameter; then the same forming machinery or different equipment is subsequently used for the secondary fabrication processes wire bending and/or creating complex geometries and shapes.  Generally, this part of the process involves making a bend in the wire, or creating an angled bend to the left or right of the wire geometry.  Depending upon the specific fabrication requirements, wire forms may be drawn through precision multislide forming/four-slide forming machinery, draw benches or even through a spindle or spindles.  Swaging generally involves utilizing multiple dies—note that hollow wires/tubing are drawn through mandrels—then tagging machinery, any additional spindles and/or rollers, such as annular rollers, and even wedges to complete the geometry.

Once the wire form is fabricated, wire ends may be hammered, drawn, chamfered, flared, have wire end points created, or joined with various ends depending on your wire form geometry and production needs.  The total number of steps in multislide forming is dependent on the design complexity of your wire form geometry.  We can assist your company with design and engineering based on our current production capacity of over 100 pieces of fabrication and finishing machinery.

Wire Diameter Fabrication Production Capacity

Western Wire Products Co. manufactures wire forms with a wide range of wire diameters, using metals and alloys.  For multislide forming or four-slide forming, our production machinery accommodate blank wire diameters ranging from 0.028 inches to 0.562 inches or metric diameters ranging from 0.75 mm to 14 mm.  Our precision, CNC-machining accommodates blank wire diameters ranging from 0.016 inches to 0.625 inches or metric diameters ranging from 0.4 mm to 16 mm.  We also have fabrication machinery that accommodate strip steel wire up to 16 gauge.  With over 100 pieces of production machinery at our facilities in Fenton, Missouri, we can accommodate a wide range of fabrication requests using blank wire to create simple to quite complex wire form geometries.

Request a quote on multislide forming, design, engineering, prototyping, and fabrication by Western Wire Products Co.  We are a full-service wire forms manufacturer and supplier.  We can accommodate most primary fabrication, secondary operations and finishing services that your company will likely require.  We provide a range of custom fabrication services accommodate the diverse market standards of industry, manufacturing, assembly or even military or U.S. Navy standards, aviation/aerospace requirements, or even sanitary wire forms (stainless steel passivation) for food, agriculture or medical needs.

We Ship Standardized Wire Forms and Custom Fabrications Worldwide

Please contact Western Wire Products Co. direct with any requirements for international shipping. For inventory-stock purchase or custom production lot runs, we ship wire forms throughout the U.S. and worldwide.  We supply businesses throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, Asia, Australia and South America.

Businesses are welcome to call Western Wire Products Co. at 800-325-3770.  You may e-mail product inquiries or custom wire forms fabrication questions to: [email protected].